Australia edge out Britain in team pursuit thriller
Australia won a thrilling men's team pursuit final against Britain at the National Velodrome on Wednesday to claim their first Olympic gold medal in the iconic track event since 2004.
The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the 16-lap duel with Australians Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O'Brien always fractionally ahead.
It was still in the balance as the bell rang for the final lap but calamity struck Britain as Charlie Tanfield and Ethan Hayter clipped wheels, sending them out of formation to allow Australia to gain sweet revenge for past defeats.
They had lost the 2012 and 2016 finals to Britain but arrived in Paris with a formidable quartet and broke the world record when knocking out Italy in the first round.
🥇🥇🥇 MAKE IT THREE OLYMPIC TEAM GOLD MEDALS TODAY!
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) August 7, 2024
For the first time since Athens 2004, Australia is once again Olympic champions in the Track Cycling Men's Team Pursuit!#AllezAUS | @AusCycling | @AusCyclingTeam pic.twitter.com/D3AEZTWeN0
"I'm just so proud of the team I'm a part of," O'Brien told reporters. "It's an absolute honour to share the track with those guys, and even more so when you come away with gold.
"I have so much respect for that (British) team and those guys, so hats off to them for putting on a good show."
Italy, the champions from Tokyo, easily beat Denmark to take the bronze medal.
For Britain, it was a case of so near yet so far as they failed to reclaim the title in the event they once dominated.
"We were so close and I could see it. It was nearly five laps at the end and I just really gave too much, and my whole body went weak and I really struggled to hold myself on the bike in the end," Hayter said.
"Sorry to the guys but I think we gave everything and we can be proud of that silver medal."
PURSUIT FINAL
The women's team pursuit final takes place later with the United States taking on New Zealand for gold. The US have made three Olympic podiums in the event but are yet to win gold.
World records continued to tumble earlier on day three of track action with Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen again showing why he is regarded as the best track sprinter of his generation with an incredible 200 metres flying lap to top the time sheets in qualification for the track cycling sprint.
Australian Matthew Richardson initially broke the world record set by Trinidad and Tobago's Paul Nicholas in 2019.
Richardson clocked 9.091 seconds to beat Nicholas's mark of 9.100 set at high altitude in Bolivia but he could not celebrate for long as the 27-year-old Lavreysen, fresh from his team sprint gold on Tuesday, clocked 9.088, averaging 79kph.
Lavreysen, nicknamed The Beast, is going for three golds at the Paris Games and is favourite for the sprint and keirin.
Extremely warm conditions inside the velodrome, together with wider banking on the curves allowing riders to generate more speed, have made for fast sprinting times.
Both the men's and women's team sprints being won in world record times while Australia's men also set a team pursuit world record in the first round on Tuesday.
The start of the women's keirin rounds saw New Zealand's world champion Ellesse Andrews make it safely through to the quarterfinals, as did Britain's Emma Finucane and Canada's Olympic sprint champion Kelsey Mitchell.
Kristina Clonan has a spot in the women's Keirin quarters after finishing fastest in repechage!
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) August 7, 2024
Over in the women's Team Pursuit Georgia Baker, Alexandra Manly and Sophie Edwards will challenge Canada for seventh.#AllezAUS | @AusCycling | @AusCyclingTeam pic.twitter.com/TN3n462tPR
Colombia's world silver medallist Martha Bayona was surprisingly knocked out.
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